Contemplating a spin bike...which one?

I have a cyclops fluid trainer for my Roadie which is a nice set up. The problem is, the ergonomics of the bike feels good to real good on the road for 2-3 hour rides but feels terrible 30 minutes in on the trainer unless I am doing a interval dvd.

I am thinking a spin bike set up a little more for comfort, and with the "time trial bars" type set up for those winter and bad weather days might make it a bit easier to go 60-90 minutes or longer which I can not do currently.

Anyone use one for these reasons? Which one to get? The Livestrong one at Dick's seemed pretty nice but am open to suggestions at that $1000 or below price range.

I bought the Schwinn Evolution -- the one that everyone in the movies seems to ride. It's the one in the local membership gym. I paid $1200 for it back in 2003. It's OK . . . the saddle adjusts fore/aft, but the only position that make any sense is all the way forward. Saddle and seat bracket is out of the old coaster bike design school. Seems like for this kind of $$$ they'd offer a decent saddle, seat post setup.

Bars adjust up/down, but no adjust for forward, back or tilt on a time trial style bar.

Seems like the flywheel weighs about 40 lbs. Momentum is significant, tension adjust is very fine. It's possible to adjust resistance down to really minute variations.

Solid, no vibration, no movement. The bike rides like it's bolted to a concrete slab. I can stand and push, rock side to side and the bike doesn't move. Absolutely stable.

Now . . .

I can ride on the road, on the off road for hours. Also, I can get the heart rate up on the road to 85% easy, and hold it there. But on the spin bike it's hard work to get 35 minutes of riding. Hard work to get to 75% aerobic load.

I play all sorts of "games" to keep me motivated -- I run the heart rate monitor up, then watch it come down, run it back up in intervals. I have plenty of water, remote control for the TV in a cradle on the bars. I ride in front of the TV -- which has plenty of music/workout video option.

IT'S BORING AS HELL . . .

I ride a couple times, then I avoid it. I love riding on the road, off road. I hate sitting on this thing.

It's a very sophisticated machine . . . ride is excellent. It's just boring as hell, and doesn't work as a "training option" for the nasty weather days, short daylight.

I don't normally get bored on the trainer using spiverval DVDs etc. My road bike position just gets uncomfortable and I Am kinda hoping that I could set up a spin bike to a better position. Maybe I'd be better off putting a rigid fork on my back up mtb and try to ser that up for more comfort

When I was road racing I bought "rollers" -- That's a drum treadmill for a road bike. You get to ride your actual bike, and it develops balance. But you can't stand and "climb" on it.

I have put the spin bike -- it's on wheels and rolls anywhere I want to set up -- in the garage door, overlooking the hills and pasture, and the rain. Then AC/DC "Highway To Hell" cranked way up. I still have a hard time getting motivated to ride for more than about 35 min.

For off days and foul weather -- which is the delimiting factor here -- I have an 80 lb heavy bag that I spar on, and a universal weight machine, free weights. I can work out on the weights for a couple hours and stay focus.

I have a nice rowing machine too. It's not a flywheel rig, but it's pro grade. I find the rowing machine a huge bore too. I suppose I just hate doing aerobic work and not getting any speed out of it. Treadmills bore me spitless . . .

My spinner is an old school one. It is a Schwinn Jonny G spin bike. It has been a solid bike. Even after living out in the rain and snow for 8 years it is still kicking. I cleaned it up and I am on it at least twice a week. I didn't even have to lube the chain. Adjustments are good but not excellent. I changed the saddle to one that was close to my bikes saddle.

I have a cyclops fluid trainer for my Roadie which is a nice set up. The problem is, the ergonomics of the bike feels good to real good on the road for 2-3 hour rides but feels terrible 30 minutes in on the trainer unless I am doing a interval dvd.

I am thinking a spin bike set up a little more for comfort, and with the "time trial bars" type set up for those winter and bad weather days might make it a bit easier to go 60-90 minutes or longer which I can not do currently.

Anyone use one for these reasons? Which one to get? The Livestrong one at Dick's seemed pretty nice but am open to suggestions at that $1000 or below price range.

Thanks
G

Not to be a dick but it sounds like your "roadie" (or your trainer situation) isn't set up right. You'll have a hard time dialing in your current/future position (MTB, Road, TT... ...whatever) on most any of the spin bikes.

also, TT bars are certainly not meant for comfort. That being said, your TT position (or any position for that matter) should be somewhat comfortable but is really a compromise between "comfort" and putting out the wattage for whatever duration (30 min short track to 5hr+ IronMan) you're looking at.

I'd plunk down the $ for a real bike fit. Unless of course you just want to buy something.

having had a johnny g, the good thing about them is there is a good market for them second hand. Check out Craigslist.

Not to be a dick but it sounds like your "roadie" (or your trainer situation) isn't set up right. You'll have a hard time dialing in your current/future position (MTB, Road, TT... ...whatever) on most any of the spin bikes.

also, TT bars are certainly not meant for comfort. That being said, your TT position (or any position for that matter) should be somewhat comfortable but is really a compromise between "comfort" and putting out the wattage for whatever duration (30 min short track to 5hr+ IronMan) you're looking at.

I'd plunk down the $ for a real bike fit. Unless of course you just want to buy something.

having had a johnny g, the good thing about them is there is a good market for them second hand. Check out Craigslist.

Good luck and have a great weekend.

That is the thing. I can ride outdoors on the road with my road bike for 2-3 hour rides without a comfort issue. (seldom get a chance to go longer than that). That same road bike is just hard to ride on the trainer for any length of time. Set up is level in front to back and side to side on the trainer. I suppose trainer discomfort most likely comes down to a weak core and being a bit more out of shape than I have been in the past. Hands, elbows, and especially butt get me at about 35-45 minutes, yet I have no issues with my saddle outdoors.

Should probably just suck it up use the trainer as is. Need to do something to combat the horrible WIS weather.

Iíve got a Lemond Revmaster. I use the exact same saddle and pedals on the Revmaster as on my mountain bike. Also the seat adjustments on the Revmaster allow for micro adjustments so the result is a nearly identical match to the set up on my mountain bike. The only difference is the crankset on the Revmaster is 170 vs. 175 on the mountain bike. I would say it is one of the best pieces of workout equipment you can buy. Mainly I use it as a recovery ride or as a warmup for squats.